Younger drivers outshine ‘veterans’

Team ‘STC Karting’ from S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia hogged the limelight at t h e 6 - H o u r E n d u r a n c e K a r t i n g Championship held at the Sri Lanka Karting Circ u i t Bandaragama last Saturday. Excellent driving skills, combined with exceptional teamwork, took STC Karting to the top of the podium. Led by Anish Ranasinghe, the team comprised Linal Goonetilleke, Jinuka Vitharana, Kavish Ruwanpura, Upul Janaka and I s h faaq Rizny as the Manager.

They completed 542 l ap s w i t h i n t h e s i x - hours. Thunderbolt Racing, who finished 536 laps, were placed second while BKMS Racing, who completed 534 laps were placed third. The young drivers of STC Karting outshone the competition on Saturday taking on karting veterans in qualifying rounds and showing great speed in the dry heat at the 6-hour Endurance Championship which is organised by the Bandaragama Go-Kart Racing Club at the international karting track managed by David Pieris Racing and Leisure (DPRL).

Eleven teams with a maximum of six members each, comprising drivers and pit crew, competed in this race where drivers maneuvered their karts through the straights and turns continuously for six hours, putting team strategy and a heady mix of speed, stamina and skills to the test. The teams according to performance; STC Kar t i n g , Thunderbolt Racing, BKMS Racing, SLR Golden Phoenix, Target Racing, RHC Racing, Rebellion Racing SL, SLR GP Autosports, Stallion Riders, SLR GP Motorsports, Team Pulsar. Commenting on his team’s victory, S. Thomas College M a s t e r - i n - C h a r g e o f Go-Karting, H. Kapila Ruwan de Silva said that the school introduced motor sports in 2016.

“With the help of our Coach, Dinesh Pathirana there has been considerable progress in motor sports with the boys having improved tremendously from where they were when they first started”. “The college motor sports began under the captaincy of Pratharshan Vignanantha last year who was the first captain of Go-Karting. Presently the senior team captain is Kinura Kandanearachchi, vice captain is Isika Anujaya, the secretary is Ishfaaq Rizny and the junior team captain is Anish Ranasinghe, vice captain is Linal Goonetilleke, the secretary is Nevaan Jayawardene. Altogether there are about 20 boys in the squad,” de Silva said.

“All boys love to race. A racing track gives the boys a safe venue to quench their thirst for speed while building skills. It will be nice for see other schools coming forward so then inter school races can be held,” he added. Congratulating the winners, team STC Karting, Chief Operating Officer of the David Pieris Racing and Leisure, Niroshan Serasinghe said, “The young drivers from S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia demonstrated the skills, stamina and speed required and were in perfect control from the start. If Sri Lanka is to make its mark on world motorsports, the drivers need to start young and karting has been the starting point for most of the successful F1 drivers.

This win for the talented school boys shows the potential we have, and we are proud to provide one of the best facilities in Asia and even globally for them to hone their skills”. After concluding the X30 Asia Cup 2018 in January, the circuit received good responses from motor sports enthusiast globally. Since its expansion, the circuit has held many events specially targeting the corporate sector and racing enthusiasts, Serasinghe said, adding that SLKC would be expanded into a world class theme park in the future.